No. of Recommendations: 8
Do they. What about their energy infrastructure?
Probably adequate to manage a shift to a wartime footing. There's no way Russia could completely seal off the entire continent, especially since Europe's navy is - again - equal to that of Russia, and they would be joined by other NATO members with naval resources (like the U.S. and Canada). Their subs could harry those supply lines, but those supply lines would also be protected by escorting navy vessels - and while counter-sub maneuvers are tough, subs are not invincible.
In recent years they've improved.
They've always been massive. Again, the $200+ billion that I cited further up the thread was from 2015. Not "in recent years" - from before Trump or Biden took office.
Whether you think they should be bigger is a separate question from whether they are insubstantial. They are not insubstantial - again, Europe spends more on its combined military and has more active duty personnel than nearly any military on earth, save only the U.S. and (perhaps) the Chinese.
Could France alone fight off Russia? Of course not. They've never been able to do that, and never would be able to do that. But could all of the military forces contribute significantly to the defense of the continent against a Russian invasion, working as part of a NATO force that included US power? Absolutely - both now and in 2015 and probably at every time relevant to this discussion.
Could they spend more? Sure. Are they spending an insignificant amount? Absolutely not.
